It is neither as strong nor as flawed a bill as it might have been, but codifying a “presumption of openness” for disclosing government records to the public is unquestionably a step forward for the United States. It’s also a rare, welcome example of bicameral bipartisanship in a Congress notable for polarization, as well as an important victory for transparency in a city that needs it.

Reforming this law will not be a panacea. In the years ahead, our federal government can make the Freedom of Information Act better through oversight, improved use of technology, procurement reform, better training and improved staffing processes. Making open government data the default and adopting proactive disclosure will vastly improve how well FOIA officers can do their jobs, and we encourage Congress to do so. Modernizing agencies running legacy systems on mainframes will help as well. Giving the people who use the law to their access own immigration or military dedicated services will enable agencies to focus on public interest requests.

All of those challenges should drive home just how important it was for Congress to enact reforms and the president to sign them. Political support for transparency is more critical than ever for holding “Top Secret America” accountable. As the United States prepares for a transition next January, more than 100 countries have enacted access to information laws of their own. While their quality varies around the world, establishing and upholding the public’s right to know is now a cornerstone of modern democracy.

That’s an achievement worth hailing. These laws are worth protecting from the inevitable attempts at repeal and weakening by politicians and bureaucrats who would prefer to keep their mistakes, fraud or outright corruption out of the public eye, and reforming when issues with implementation or compliance emerge.

We thank President Obama for his support today for bringing FOIA into the 21st century, and hope that he will push through more open government reforms in his last six months in office.